


I feel like you do (Cable x OC)

by Cumberbatchheylovehim



Category: Cable (Comics), Deadpool (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Nathan Summers - Fandom
Genre: Action, F/M, Love, Marvel Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 09:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15682668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cumberbatchheylovehim/pseuds/Cumberbatchheylovehim
Summary: Marian met Cable as one of the two surviving applicants for X-Force. His cold mannerism and treatment of everyone in his surroundings was enough to keep her at a distance until one day he confides in her that he needs a place to stay. Sharing a flat with someone as taciturn as him was bound to be easy; no interaction, no awkward conversations, no pretending to like each other, just silence. Everything seemed to work perfectly for the both of them until they realized that some odd ebullition of emotion had thwarted their plan of remaining so devoid of one another's attention.





	1. One.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I fell in love with Cable.  
> Can you blame me?  
> As per usual, I do not own any of the Marvel characters, only my original ones.  
> Thank you for reading, don't forget to leave kudos if you like it or comment.  
> <3 <3 <3

The first time Marian had met Cable was during Wade’s stupid mission to save the mutant boy from the former’s “blood-thirsty” grip of violence. She and Domino were the only applicants to have survived the vicious winds that managed to thwart Wade’s haphazardly prepared plan. Cable was this powerful and intimidating older man who was ready to make a mush out of their brains, should they have kept interfering with everything he did. The sole thing she knew about him was that he seemed to be a very grumpy and wanted to commit a murderous act on a child, according to her, such a monstrous thing was enough to declare him insane and volatile. Her goals in life (which were basically everything the Avengers had but since she hadn’t befriended any wealthy people who would refer her and she was British, she had to settled down for Wade’s little ensemble) were a far cry compared to Wade’s, his reasons for fighting varied from moment to a moment, they had only recently become munificent due to his own change of heart. All in all, Wade seemed to be an interesting and intricate person but the one on the other side, Cable, Nathan Summers, the man of iron, the one who would never show any other emotion save anger emerged as a new valuable candidate as well. He was also the culprit behind her broken hand, mind you, it was probably one of the most painful moments of her entire life, having his prodigious figure protruding before her sight as the very apparition from hell and dragging her on the ground like the cans tied up on the muffler of a wedding car was not a very nice experience for one’s first ever mission. The crude treatment she had received from him was enough to make him probably the most detested person in her life for the time being. The second time she saw him was in Dopinder’s cab and she was forced to squeeze herself in between him and Domino in the back seat, during their drive to the destination of the final battle. She wasn’t exactly delighted to find Deadpool at her doorstep one night, begging her to assist him one last time into the true X Force spirit, in order to give one final push and save Russell. You can imagine her answer, yes, she declined him and tried to close her door before his face, but alas, you can’t close a door with a katana stuck to its frame. Wade’s vexing persistence had dragged her into the back of that yellow taxi cab, facing the very man who had disabled her for quite a long time and prevented her from doing even the simplest of things, for example her job at the local library which at one point had to consist of re-arranging books. She paid him a glower before imploring Domino to be the one to sit in between; Domino didn’t hesitate to delve into a long explanation as to why she could not bear to be in the middle so finally, the discussion was put to a hasty end by the grating sound of Wade’s loud shrieking. Throughout most of the ride she could feel the man’s murky eyes watching her stealthily, though his stealth was a bit questionable after all because someone as intimidating as him could scarcely go about unnoticed and especially by someone who was very observant of their surroundings. Many times she wanted to ask him why he looked at her, was it out of curiosity, was it because she had something on her face or was it because of some other unknown and mysterious reason; however, she didn’t, instead she tried her best to ignore Wade’s painfully vexing debates and find solace into her own head. She closed her eyes, laid her head backwards, her long, braided hair slightly brushing over Domino’s shoulder and exhaled loudly. For all she knew, that could’ve been her last rest, the child was unpredictable, his powers unprecedented, Wade’s intrepid actions were guaranteed to turn everything upside down and she was almost positive that the man to her left would most certainly end up murdering the boy. Truth be told, she couldn’t care less for any of them. In the very beginning of her interaction with Wade and through the creation of that ridiculous plan, she even tried to put some sense into him and implore him to allow them a decent time for preparation, carefully and thoroughly prepare every single move and then execute, but Wade being his charming and careless self laughed at her face and ignored her; ever since she stopped treating him as seriously as she had done before and also stopped caring about the outcome of that idiotic plan of his.

“I’m sorry”

She opened her eyes, startled. Cable was the one who apologized, the sound of it had startled her more than the fact that she actually managed to fall asleep on her way to an important mission. Her telltale blue-green eyes looked at the older man with a mix of perplexity and surprise.

“What for?” she asked, glancing briefly at the car mirror where Dopinder had regarded both of them with a look of pure amusement, then back to him.   

“Your hand. It's broken”

Marian scoffed wryly and then cleared her throat, gaining a look from Domino, who had been listening to their discussion without alarming them that she could hear everything, even Deadpool, who was having one of his endless conversations with himself where everybody pretended to listen to him but really nobody did, ceased talking, curious of the events that would unfold presently.

“Well, I must compliment your skills of observation Mr. Cable. They’re wondrous” she heard Wade cackle in the background and couldn’t help but feel pleased with her own witty comeback. Cable, on the other side, didn’t hesitate to wear his usual dark glower that warned most people to stay away from him; it worked on everyone, save Wade, obviously.

“I hope you’ll feel better soon, that’s all.” He murmured almost inaudibly and looked through the window, avoiding to once again encounter her judgmental expression. Marian nodded her head and sighed; everyone into that vehicle could sense the tension between the two very different individuals and eagerly awaited her reply. All she said was a quick thank you and thus, to all of their misfortune, ended the discussion then and there without giving them what they expected which was a heated argument. After a few minutes of deadly silence, Wade was obviously the one to break it by saying:

“Mr. Cable” in a fake British accent and laughed loudly, joined by Dopinder and Domino.

The third time she saw Cable was during her usual Wednesday visit of the local café, where she had her afternoon tea and read her favorite book. You can only imagine her confusion once she had encountered him standing before the counter, regarding the menus with great interest as though they were something foreign for him, which they clearly were. She silently prayed that he hadn’t seen her; 4 months had passed since their last mission, in which she had hardly heard of him or Wade and Domino. Despite being pleased to become a part of something so new and austere for her, she missed her quiet and simple life, the decision of ignoring another distortion of the kind to her life was a sane one and a final one as well. Wade, though, she missed him terribly and even considered calling him for a few times, but talked herself out of it quick enough because she didn’t want to be intrusive.

Noticing him tilt his head a little, she placed the book before her face and ignored the little dialogue he shared with the barista about needing an apparent explanation of the menu. When she finally drew enough valor to stand and leave, someone called after her just when she was about to slide through the door and run as fast as she could; obviously, it wasn’t anyone else but the very man she was trying to avoid, because this, after all, is a story of many cliché situations.

“Ms. Davies?”

She turned around and there he was clad into something that did not reveal the robotic additions to his body and actually gave him an appearance of a human, more human than his usual self, the one she knew from 3 months ago. His hair had also grown a little, so did his facial hair; if that had been his attempt of being more approachable, something she highly doubted, he terribly failed at it. Now, yes, their interaction had improved a little through the battle, making their way through the angry warden’s of the orphanage required at lot of team work, though it appeared that such a thing was harder for him when it came to Wade because of his unbearable nature, Cable seemed to have developed quite an ease when it came to working with her. At one moment he had even lifted her into his hands and helped her plummet into the air hoisting her weapon like a flag into her hands. It all looked and felt so beautiful, she had never been that happy, working well with others, her heart swelled looking at them cracking skulls and stabbing chests so intrinsically and boldly, they were all so beautiful and she was a part of that all. Looking at him, it all came back to her, how proud she felt walking beside some of the best fighters she had encountered within her life; the people who made her forget ever dreading not being a part of the Avengers. But why did he stop to talk to her? Despite them being on better terms after the fight was over, mainly thanks to her overzealous behavior because of all the adrenalin that had captured her body and namely allowed her to be more courageous in her approach to anyone in particular, she still didn’t feel entirely comfortable in his presence.

“Cable” she breathed, giving him an awkward smile. She really hated being red handed, on the other hand he loved catching people red handed, but he didn’t show that pleasure upon his countenance.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, clutching her book by her hand gauchely. Cable eyed it curiously, before looking back at her.

“It was something spontaneous, I saw the place and went in without thinking twice” his response sounded surprisingly honest, which perplexed her greatly.

“Uh, I see, well, that’s good for you. Um” she paused noticing that he now looked at her injured hand, where a simple bandage had been replacing the white cast she wore and used to smash some of the warden’s heads in the orphanage. He often chuckled to himself (can you believe it?) remembering those fond memories. His next question was quite predictable.

“How’s your hand?”

“Better, now that the cast is gone. At least I no longer have to scratch myself with a needle” she noticed a faint smile adorning his lips which vanished as quickly as it emerged. Why, that was very odd indeed, so uncharacteristic for him as well. The fact that he proceeded looking at her with that neutral expression of his did not put her at ease at all; it was difficult for anyone to fathom what he felt, what his thoughts were, just by looking at those puzzling eyes. He was an enigma, but then all things from different timelines are meant to be an enigma, he just stayed true to his description. Cable was such a man that would never reveal his disposition, he rejoiced into his own mysterious nature, he loved being someone’s occupation, it probably worked miracles for his ego, despite the fact he was emotionless on the outside that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a massive ego. But the way he looked at her was something really, really intimidating, it brought chills up her spine. She had never felt that way in anyone’s presence; she had never been so thoroughly scrutinized by anyone as well, as though all her layers, all her walls were destroyed one by one with his digitalized shield. What she managed to notice though was the verisimilitude into his eyes, he didn’t feign interest, he genuinely wanted to know her better even if she didn’t allow him, after all Cable is not one who asks for permission.

“Yeah, I better go” she interrupted that little interval by taking a small step towards the door.

“I was wondering whether you could help me with the drinks here. I don’t seem to understand”

His remark sounded very unconvincing, mainly because she had heard his conversation with the barista before. That was the reason as to why she chuckled.

“I don’t think you need my help Cable, that nice lady over there clearly explained everything that you needed to know.”

It was the very first time she had encountered a genuine smile from him and she had to admit, _it was beautiful_. He was beautiful smiling like that, he was beautiful when he wasn’t sulking, he was beautiful when he wasn’t glowering, grunting and growling at people’s faces.

“All right, but I do need your help for something else. I’m looking for a place to stay”

Well of course he wasn’t going to stay with Wade; nobody could bear staying alone with Wade for more than three minutes. She loved the merc with the mouth but not too much as to bear with him in her living space, which was probably also the case with Cable; well all right, one couldn’t say that Cable loved Wade at all for that matter, at least not in the moment. There is always a time into the life of Wade’s acquaintances where they realize they love him, either because he said a nice thing to them, cared for them, save their life, showed them love for no reason. That moment of realization would also find Cable sometime in the future, but for the time being, he was positive that he detested Wade more than anything. With a cup by their hands hey retired towards a solitary corner where no one would bother or interrupt them and continued their conversation. Marian could hardly believe her own eyes though, Cable in a café, drinking coffee peacefully, without causing mayhem, without screaming at people, pulling triggers and cracking skulls. He looked so normal, so ordinary, almost blended with the rest of the people that surrounded them and if it weren’t for his cybernetic arm that peeped every once and awhile from underneath his jacket she could easily mistake him for any grumpy dad in his 40s looking for refuge in caffeine before having to pick his children up from school.

“You don’t technically have money, you know” she said before taking a small sip and namely burning her tongue because of the how hot the liquid was. She was grateful though that Cable didn’t see it because she wasn’t his current subject of interest, he seemed to be fascinated by the plant behind her with the purple flowers and looked at it assiduously.

“Money’s not a problem” he grunted into his usual melancholy and whispery tone. Well, a man capable of taking out so many people with a single shot was bound to know how to make money without having the trouble to work; his dexterity complemented him, he would’ve surely used it to obtain some money without being caught or fined for such an act. Whatever came to her in that moment was unable to be explained, the words just slipped from her mouth without any difficulty, she looked at him and shamelessly said:

“You can stay in my flat until you decide what to do”

She was technically returning the favor to his act of kindness back in the orphanage, where he had ran together with her and Wade into each hand from the burning building, namely saving their lives. In his head, he was also making amends for treating her so harshly during their previous meeting…But just what was she trying to achieve by proposing something as ridiculous as that? He was probably going to decline coldly and pretend she had never suggested it on the first place…

“OK” he said promptly, his eyes shifting from the plant to her, with the speed of lightning as though he were waiting for her to suggest something like that. She looked at him, wide eyed.

“I could, that’s actually a great suggestion, thank you”

Cable, smiling, saying thank you, being polite, nice, it all made her question her sanity and wonder whether he were a clone sent there to murder her. The whole thing he did was being so terribly unlike himself; true, she scarcely knew anything about him yet, but looking at a person, hearing them for the first time is enough to create a certain perception that pops within your head whenever their name is mentioned. Whenever she thought of Cable, she remembered a harsh, brusque, peremptory, taciturn and often ill-humored old man who liked his guns and loved fighting, not whoever that man sitting before her was. He even blew through the liquid into his cup in order to help it become colder soon so he could drink it, and that alone was enough to humanize him in the best way possible.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Living with Cable would be like.........

Having Cable sleeping on the couch in the living room was possibly the most austere “ornament” into her flat. Marian had soon developed a massive difficulty in becoming inured to his presence in the small studio flat and whenever she would encounter him coming out of the bathroom or the kitchen she refrained from shrieking. Cable, to her surprise, was a very organized human being, he never left dirty laundry behind himself, his shoes and his bag stood into a neat array in the corner where they weren’t presenting her any kind of a trouble. His “utility bag” was often hung over one of the dining chairs because the said chair happened to be closer towards the door, so he could just grab it on his way out and leave without saying bye. They never ate together; Marian would usually wake up after Cable had already left the flat and she would end up eating breakfast on her own. She couldn’t be sure whether he even ate inside or even ate at all, many of the groceries from the fridge or on the shelves were left untouched, just as she had placed them the day before. Asking him would be ridiculous, she wasn’t supposed to care whether he ate or not, she wasn’t his mother; in her defense, being ignored by your own parents and relatives because of money and living alone had left her with this interesting anomaly of becoming attached to whoever stayed in her life even for a few days. That meant she would subconsciously care about them, about their feelings, their health but never say anything about it. Her shift ended somewhere around 4 o’clock and she would usually return to an empty flat, nothing but his bag, the folded sweatpants over the couch and the two pairs of shoes indicating that someone else lived with her inside as well. Both lunch and dinner were spent on her own, afterwards she would sit around the living room for a bit, watch TV or fiddle with her computer until it was time for bed. One o’clock or half past one was the frequent time of Cable’s return, as stealthily and inaudibly as he could muster, but despite that, she still knew of it because one night he knocked out the vase and had rudely startled her. Some nights she would close her eyes and listen to the water running from the faucet. He would often leave the door of the bathroom opened, while he shaved, washed his teeth or showered; it might sound creepy but she loved listening to the water drip over the ceramic of the shower tray, it helped her calm down and fall asleep quicker. One day he left early in the morning and hadn’t returned for days, prompting her to think that he had left for good without saying goodbye- something that was expected from him. Noticing that everything of his was gone, she couldn’t help but feel a little sullen, she didn’t expect much from him but she was glad to have him around, despite his lack of affability and his laconic ways. That day she left for work sulkily and spent the remaining of it just silently rearranging books and waiting for her shift to end so she could go back home and watch films.

‘So much for the spirit of X-Force, or saving the world’ she would often think to herself, while eating another smaller can of ice cream. Around the time that Cable had moved in with her and vanished a few months later without a word, a very interesting fellow who went by the name of Richard came into her life like an uninvited guest. One could easily notice that he wasn’t the type to read books or interest himself with knowledge, what he had though, was a mustang, a very pretty face and a handful of ego. He was the one who kept her company while Cable was gone, which resulted in her nearly forgetting that they had ever shared a flat together in the first place. The man was your typical narcissistic scion of an Italian descent, who loved showing off his toys, thinking that it was the only way to a girl’s heart, which in many cases the narrative proved to be true.  Marian only tolerated him because she found him a little attractive and because he loved reciting only one of Shakespeare’s many sonnets to her, despite not knowing its meaning; it somehow gave a little depth to their hasty ‘relationship’. When it came to her mutant powers, she was still not ready to reveal them before him; Richard was nothing but a friend who would occasionally spend his night into her bed, but he would never become more than that.

One rainy Monday night, however, she had returned to her flat, her trousers and shoes drenched in water, shaking her umbrella before the threshold, to only notice that the door was slightly opened. The fact that Cable might’ve returned didn’t come to her head in the moment, she prepared herself to beat whoever had dared to intrude upon her privacy to a pulp or simply throw the nearest cupboard at them without thinking. Instead she was greeted by Cable’s acrid grunt; he was sitting on the couch and tending to his slightly disheveled cybernetic arm, his shirt thrown down on the floor.

“I thought you had left. For good this time”

“I would’ve told you kid” he murmured, hissing a little when he probably touched something that had caused him pain, it was only confirmed by the small sparks of lightning that emerged from his arm. Marian dropped her bag over the arm chair and approached him a little.

“Are you all right?”

Cable nodded. “Yeah” noticing that she wanted to ask him about the reason for his sudden departure but didn’t know how, he proceeded: “I settled a few things that needed to be taken care of, that’s why I was gone for so long, in case you were wondering” he finished with yet another hiss.

“Can I do anything to help? With your arm, I mean”

Cable shook his head. A few moments later, she mustered some courage to offer him food, which he didn’t decline, in fact he sat by the table with her and for the first time since his arrival they sat eating together in complete silence.

“So, who’s Richard?”

Marian had nearly spat her food on the floor, so before answering him she took a big gulp of water and cleared her throat.

“He’s just a friend. Why do you ask?”

Cable shrugged. “I was just attempting small talk. Won’t be doing that again” he said into his usual low and sonorous tone, taking a bite from the bread.

“No, I am it’s OK, I’ve always wanted to talk to you since we never did, but I sort of, kind of, um…Never knew how. You’re not the easiest person to talk to.” she rambled, avoiding to look at him. When he didn’t say anything, fearing that she might’ve offended him, she decided to change the subject completely. “How-How did you find out about Richard anyway?”

Cable just pointed towards the sticky paper over the fridge, where the first sentences of Shakespeare’s III sonnet had been written into a sloppy handwriting: _Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest_. _Now is the time that face should form another_ _._ Marian rolled her eyes; she would be lying if that infernal sonnet had not become the most vexing thing in her life.

“Sounds like he really, really wants to impregnate you” his tone was oddly cheerful, so was his expression; something that in another time would be really satisfying but in the current moment angered her.

“He doesn’t know what it means”

“Well tell him. He’s making a fucking fool of himself.”

“That’s precisely why I won’t tell him”

A minute later, they were both sharing a pleasant laugh that echoed even through the opened door of the balcony, where the rain still poured heavily over the streets and the streetlamps petulantly illuminated the mustard yellow carpet, where Cable’s bag was lying, forgotten by its owner.

“So what was all that about?” she asked him, the insecurity about it though still creeping like a snail atop her spine.

“Just clearing up some timelines, nothing important” was his answer into the true laconic fashion, deriving her from inquiring any further about the matter. Then he sprang to his feet, signalizing that he had finished with his meal and to her surprise took his plate and placed it into the sink. On his way towards the bathroom, he ceased before the fridge, where the bright green color of the sticky paper protruded through the gray and white tones of the fridge.

“If I were him, I’d choose sonnet 18” and with that walked away. The last thing she heard of him for the night was the door thud of the bathroom and later the click of the headstand lamp in the living room, which indicated that he had fallen asleep. But something didn’t allow her sleep, something unknown would transform that night into a sleepless one, something that had rarely occurred to her, no matter what happened that day. The silent buzz of her telephone had also disposed of the small signs of somnolence over her countenance.

 _‘_ _Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother._  
_For where is she so fair whose uneared wom_ _b’_

She groaned, throwing the device as far away as possible from her.

“Idiot” she murmured, placing both of her hands under her pillow and hid her sullen expression from it. A few minutes later, something she remembered had prompted her to take her Shakespeare volume and seek for sonnet 18; just for the sake of reminding herself what the sonnet was about nothing else, well, at least it was what she had told herself.  Having found it, she curled back under her cover and brought the augmented book closer under the pallid light of the night lamp.

 _Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?_  
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:  
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,  
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:   
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,  
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;   
And every fair from fair sometime declines,  
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;  
But thy eternal summer shall not fade  
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;  
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,  
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;   
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,  
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. 

Her eyes glided towards the ceiling, a faint blush emerging atop her cheeks. She couldn’t help but wonder why everything he had said to her must be some sort of an equivocation? Why would he mention the sonnet? Was it really just a matter of personal favorites or was there another secret, hidden meaning behind this particularly chosen sonnet? Once again over-thinking would be the death of her, so she decided to drop the subject, thinking about someone’s emotions, particularly about Cable’s emotion was a waste of time, because nothing good could come out of it. She didn’t have the ability to rummage into human minds, he kind of did and she most definitely didn’t want him to think that she was harboring amorous thoughts about him; he was a married man after all. She closed the book rapidly, hoping that the grating sound hadn’t been heard into the living room and placed it back over the shelf.

Cable was a difficult man to fathom and she never really fancy having difficult men into her life. She closed her eyes, waiting for the day when Cable would not return from one of his missions and decide that his wife and daughter deserve to have his attention, though deep down she also didn’t want that day to come as well. Cable, or Nathan, had opened his eyes, the same thoughts making clamor within his already troubled head as well. Ever since he had nearly ripped her arm from its sockets in an attempt to drag her away from him, he couldn’t help but pity her a little. The pity he felt had slowly transformed into a mild attraction thanks to the living space they shared and how their interaction had evolved. Unfortunately that made him more aware of the affect she could have on him, her oblivious state only seemed to worsen his. The more he learned of her habits of her demeanor, the more he became infatuated with her and he didn’t like that because whenever he thought of his family back into his own timeline, an invisible dagger had stabbed him from within and he became obsessed with dropping all his plans of fixing timelines to only return to his own and be what he used to be. In the beginning the suggestion of the sonnet was purely an act of sharing his opinion with the world, something that he didn’t do for things so mundane and pointless, but later, as much as he thought of that sonnet, he couldn’t help but think of how much it applied to her. He loved that sonnet so much that he had kept it foolishly and selfishly for himself and never dedicated it to anyone, not even his own wife, who he once called the most beautiful creature that had ever graced his life. Why would he ever share it with someone like her? He was also aware that once a person begins sharing personal details about themselves to others, it is when they truly allow the world to use those details in order to destroy them later. He had to move out before he started getting too personal with her. He just had to.

 But not all goes as planned.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marian comes home into a dreadful state so that leaves Cable taking care of her.  
> Fluff, I think. Haha.

One night Marian had left the flat looking rather formal, he didn’t see much of her attire, but he did catch a glimpse of her long, ginger hair bouncing away after every single move. She signaled her departure and closed the door behind her, leaving him alone into an empty flat, with nothing but the television which he did not plan to use and his couch. A few hours later he had successfully fallen asleep, but being the light sleeper, both because of personal and professional anomaly, he heard the door crack and close with a small thud. Someone had tip toed from point A to point B, sniffing into what appeared to be a handkerchief and went inside the bathroom. He opened his eyes, his cybernetic eye glistening into the darkness of the warm room and immediately sprang to his feet. He could hear some muffled noise behind the door which could only be identified as crying and mild hissing.

“Marian?”

It was the first time he referred to her after her first name, he either called her kid or not at all. Hearing his voice from behind the safe barrier of the door startled her a little and she dropped the first aid kit on the floor.

“Are you OK down there?”

She cursed under her breath, trying to gather the objects within the metal box with her healthy hand.

“Yes, just please go back to sleep” her tone of speaking sounded terrible, which prompted him to nag even more.

“Get out of there kid.”

“Cable I’m fine, really—“

“I said get out!” Cable grunted. Not so long after, the door knob twirled and her swollen and bloody countenance made an appearance, faintly illuminated by the fluorescent lamp from the bathroom. Her right eye had been black and her mouth swollen and badly cut, there was also a long trail of blood running from her nose down her cupid’s bow, the amount of cuts that abounded her face were impossible to be counted, she had probably landed onto something that had scratched her cheeks terribly.

“Richard’s not the best driver” she murmured, grimacing because of the pain into her head and the concussion she probably had. Cable quickly led her towards the couch, where the blanket he slept with remained into the same way he had left it, he pushed it away and hastily turned the lights on to see the damage better. He used his cybernetic eye to scan her and concluded that her left hand, the same he had broken previously, was once again mildly fractured; a concussion was also the reason behind her incapacitation and languid appearance.

“Your hand’s broken again and you most definitely have a concussion” he said acridly.

“I’ll be fine really”

He came back from the kitchen with a pack of ice which he had placed within the towel he found on his way, then gently secured it over her head, ignoring her childish grimaces and hissing. After she had assured him that she was capable of holding the ice on her own, he kneeled beside her and began tending to her hand.

“Your boyfriend’s an asshole Marian” he murmured somberly, while putting the bandage on meticulously.

“He’s not my boyfriend” she said brusquely, wiping away the blood from her nose with the napkin using her free hand.”At least not now”

He eyed her quickly before proceeding with his work.

“I fucking saved his life and he spat in my face, calling me a fucking freak” she cried angrily, making him look at her once again. “I lifted the car so he could crawl from underneath it before it exploded and he didn’t even thank me Cable.” She said.

“Can you not move?” he asked with a sigh.

“What kind of a world do we live in?” her eyes carried so much disappointment and sadness within those warm irises, she looked at him ready to throw herself into his arms and cry buckets of tears but both of them knew that she was too proud for that and he was too proud to even offer her a shoulder to cry on. So they settled with sharing small, significant glances fully aware that they could never deliver the words that only begged to be said. He didn’t answer her question, for the answer laid within the very timeline he lived in, the unpopular decisions and fatal mistakes that created a massive catastrophe out of the world. He could write an essay, in fact too many essays that would serve as an answer to her question but in the moment all he wanted was for her to not die of concussion.

“Lie down”

She obeyed, plopping her head over his pillow. The scent of him lingered atop the soft cushion and it surrounded her like a hungry snake. Closing her eyes, she tried to savor the strong and piquant scent and also remember it, knowing that she would never be that close to it again. The teddy bear she would often see him caress and embrace affectionately was laid there, peacefully next to his pillow and she looked at it lovingly, knowing it was the bearer of good memories.

“You know” she murmured positioning her eyes towards the ceiling and closed them. Cable came back inside, carrying a new pack of ice.

“Don’t close your eyes” he warned, taking the towel from her hand, their fingers briefly touching, and replaced the ice with the new one.

“I have an entire flat filled with different things and I still cannot find one little object with a good memory attached to it. Not that I don’t have any memories, I do, but all of them are stuck overseas into my childhood bedroom and I just can’t seem to—“Cable interrupted her ramblings by kneeling beside the couch and positioning the ice pack over her head gently. The sparkling light within his cybernetic eye slowly vanished, being replaced with the usual murky brown color of his iris while he looked at her caringly, as though he were looking at his most prized possession, which at the moment surely was the teddy bear on her right.

“I wish I had my own teddy bear Cable, at least something that would remind me that the world is good.”

His hand had brushed lightly over her head, but to her it seemed as though he had actually caressed her hair. She couldn’t know whether her mind played tricks on her because of the concussion or the lights had been too blurry and her sensitive eyes showed her the wrong vision, she had always been lost in translation when it came to Cable, she would always misinterpret his actions; maybe this was just one of those days. Maybe she was just so lonely that she would willingly accept even the slightest manifestation of tenderness, because she couldn’t help but not enjoy his constant acts of kindness.

“Not all people are bad Marian” his tone was mild for the first time. She chuckled.

“I don’t think you believe in that yourself”

“But I do” he whispered. Whatever his eyes spoke to her was a complete mystery, for she felt incompetent of reading him, her head throbbed with the rhythm of a ritual drum and as though a buzzer had nested within both of her ears, even the slightest noise soon became unbearable to her. Once she felt better, Cable helped her to her room, where he guarded the door (something that was totally superfluous according to her) while she removed her bloody and dirty attire, waiting for her to inform him the moment she was finished. Since listening to him was imperative, Marian called him immediately after she had placed her clothes in an amorphous bundle into the corner, positive that she would burn them first thing in the morning, not wishing to remind herself of that terrible night. Cable’s brooding figure slid through the door and closed it behind him, indicating that he was not planning to leave her room that night; she implored him that he needn’t keep an eye for the night but he obviously ignored her pleas and made himself comfortable into the chair he had placed previously next to her bed.

“You’re a clever girl” his sonorous voice had disrupted the silence which flooded the room like an ocean. “So you either didn’t want to see what kind a man he was or you saw it and chose to ignore it. There’s no in between”

All he heard from her was a sigh.

“Remind me what his name was again?” He grunted angrily, though without raising his voice too much.

“Nathan”

His expression softened, hearing her say his name for the first time; it immediately reminded him about those boundaries that were meant to protect him from being hurt and how he was slowly allowing them to break. Calling each other by first names obviously helped their current relationship to evolve and he found himself not dreading that at all.

“It was just an accident. And besides, I strongly believe this is the last I’ll see of him. He fears me anyway.”

“He should, or I’ll give him something else to be scared about” he said and she could swear that he had clenched and unclenched his fist for a moment. Why was he being so protective of her? Surely living in the same flat did not require him to become her bodyguard as a returning favor. She suddenly felt responsible to intercept that perpetual state they were in, of constantly making amends one to the other, it became a little vexing.

“Tell me something”

“What?”

“Anything, just anything at all. You can even read me the power juicer manual, I don’t mind. I just want to forget about everything” she paused licking her dry lips and covering herself with the blanket because of the shivers that had just caught her shoulders. “And hear your voice”

Looking at her, so fragile and hurt, curled underneath the covers as though she would never leave them, fearing the world’s cruelty, he couldn’t help but think of his daughter, dread that one day some imbecile would make her feel just the same: angry with the world and depressed. He stood up, it wasn’t difficult for him to find the thickest volume which was obviously consisted of Shakespeare’s entire life’s work and settled back over the chair. Flipping through the pages he noticed a few wrinkles on the 500th page, where the 18th sonnet coincidentally was; it brought a smile over his face, knowing that she had rushed to read once he mentioned it, it also warmed his heart a little. She was so young, so innocent; she was someone who didn’t need him in their life, because he would only ruin it. Every time he looked at her, he realized how much she dreaded that he was a married man, for he needed to use his powers in order to understand that she had fallen for him, despite the fact she was yet unaware of it. And it broke his heart knowing that he would have to leave one day and break hers as well. Instead of reading the 18th sonnet, he decided to begin with reading from _As You Like It_ ; a few hours later, they were both sleeping peacefully under the faint rays of moonlight that pepped from underneath the blinds unaware that soon, sharing a room wouldn’t be as odd as had they believed it to be.


End file.
